Five More Down, One To Go
I’ve been in a little bit of a lull in progressing towards my goal of visiting all 50 states, but was recently inspired by a friend to pick it up again. While I’m out here living in the Northeast, I figured I might as well hit up the states nearby, so over the last couple months, I’ve gone on a few weekend road trips to do just that.
During Labor Day weekend, one of my friends was in Baltimore, Maryland for work so I met up with her to explore. The transportation was a little different this trip as I took a bus on the way there and a train on the way back through Delaware.
Most of what I knew about Baltimore was from watching The Wire (an all-time great show btw). I was able to check another baseball stadium off my list by watching the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. It was a fun atmosphere with the team finally back in playoff contention. I had the best crab cakes I’ve ever eaten at Faidley’s in Lexington Market. Half of the stalls in the market were vacant though and felt like a sad sign of where the city had fallen. Baltimore seemed like a city that was once bustling in it’s heyday but was now on the downswing. It reminded me of Detroit, with a downtown area that felt a little deserted and neglected. I hope it’s make it’s recovery someday.
After Baltimore, I hopped on an Amtrak train to Delaware (our nation’s first state!). Riding Amtrak was super smooth and convenient, made me wish that we had better train systems throughout the country. I arrived in Wilmington, Delaware and spent a day exploring President Biden’s hometown. There were a lot of interesting historical buildings downtown, including the old public library. It was definitely small town and I wished they had rental bikes to more easily explore. Instead I had to use my feet and walked the greenway all along the Brandywine Creek and visited their art museum.
Maryland and Delaware were states 45 and 46!
The next weekend, I decided to do a solo road trip through Vermont and Maine. The Fall foliage in the Northeast is something else and I was in awe surrounded by beautiful vibrant colors the entire drive. Along the way, I stopped in Hartford, Connecticut for some pizza and a walk through Bushnell Park. After that, I made a pit stop in Springfield Massachusetts to check out the Springfield Armory, a now historical site where lots of guns were produced for wars in the past. I made it into Brattleboro, Vermont in the late afternoon and got to enjoy a beer while watching a gorgeous sunset on the river. My last stop of the day was at my hotel in Keene, New Hampshire. It’s kind of crazy that I stepped foot in 5 states in the span of 10 hours. There’s so many states so close to each other up here!
I continued my trip to Portland, Maine, where I visited the Allagash Brewery, which produces one of my favorite beers, and indulged in lobster rolls. The Old Port District was cute with shops and restaurants between cobblestone and brick streets. Fun fact: Portland, Oregon was named after Portland, Maine. As I traveled South along the coast, I stopped by three lighthouses (Bug Light, Portland Head Light, Nubble Lighthouse), which were pretty picturesque when it wasn’t too foggy. They each had their own unique designs.
Vermont and Maine were states 47 and 48!
My last mini road trip was to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. I did the Diamond Heights hike up a mountain and took in the sunset overlooking the city where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet. I caught the tail end of Fall foliage and it made for a beautiful backdrop as fallen leaves littered the hiking trail.
On the second day of the trip, I swung by Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It was extremely foggy and misty all morning, which made for nonexistent overlooks and some spooky looking trails. Despite the weather, I was able to hike two trails: The first was the Compton Peak trail which led me to a unique set of rock formations. The second was to Dark Hollow Falls, a really cool multi-leveled waterfall.
West Virginia was state 49! Only one left to go…
Comments are closed.